Trellis.



No. 870,864. PATENTED NOV. 12, 1907.

C. I. J. BARKER.

TRELLIS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB-26. 1907.

CLARENCE I. J. BARKER, OF DAVID CITY, NEBRASKA.

TRELLIS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 12, 1907.

Application filed February 26. 1907- Serial No. 359,341-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARENCE I. J. BARKER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at David City, in the county of Butler and State ofNebraska, have invented a new and useful Trellis, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention has reference to improvements in trellises designed forthe training of plants or vines, and its object is to produce a trellisof such form and so constructed that the. parts may be under suchconstant tension as to maintain the shape of the trellis under variousconditions of use and weather.

The invention consists essentially of a frame, prefer ably elliptical inshape, having rods or wires secured to the sides and stretched acrossthe-narrower diameter and other rods or wires stretched across itslonger di ameter and spaced apart at one end to form a pyramidal outlineand provided with means for putting these lon gitudinal rods or barsunder tension in order to tend to lengthen the shorter diameter and thusput the entire structure under such initial tension that it will remainin this condition under the various conditions to which it is subjectedin use and under the changes of temperature to which such a device isliable. Provision is also made for the easy placing of the trellis inthe ground.

The invention will be fully understood from the following detaileddescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings formingpart of this specification, in which,

Figure l is a perspective view of a trellis constructed in accordancewith my invention; and Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a detail of the(:onstruction.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown an elliptical frame 1,preferably made of one piece of metal, say, flexible steel. Thiselliptical frame may be made of a single fiat strip bent into theappropriate shape and at the meeting ends bent parallel, as shown at 2,and embracing the sides of a rod 3 about midway of its length, beingthere secured by rivets or bolts 4 passing through the rod and throughthe parallel ends 2 of the frame. The rod 3 may be round or square orpolygonal, as desired, and is preferably in the form of a tube into oneend of which is shrunk a block 5, see Fig. 2, terminating in a threadedstem 6 above the upper end of the post 3, and the lower end of the posthas inserted therein and fast thereto a twisted fiat strip 7constituting an anger end by means of which the post 3 may be readilyscrewed into the ground without the necessity of driving it with asledge or mallet.

The upper end of the post 3 extends upward into the body of theelliptical frame for a distance and at its up per end receives a crossplate or bar 8, the two ends of which are upturned, as shown, andsecured to the sides of the frame 1 by rivets or bolts 9. Extending atright angles to the bar 8 is the flat base 10 of an inverted triangularframe 11, the free ends of which are bent parallel, as shown at 12, andare fastened to the post 3 by.

means of a belt or rivet 13 immediately above the junction of the frame1 with the post 3. The bar 8 and base 10 of the frame 11 are made fastto the post 3 by means of a nut 14 applied to the threaded stem 6 whichextends through a suitable perforation in the bar 8 and base 10 of theframe 11.

On the top of the frame 1 there is a plate 15, and through the frame 1and plate 15 extend rods l6-16, riveted or otherwise secured at theirupper ends to the plate, as shown at 17, and at their lower endsthreaded, as shown at 18, and extended through perforations in the bar 8near its junction point with the frame'l and spaced equi-distant fromthe stud 6 rising from the post 3. Below the bar 8 the threaded ends 18receive nuts 19. Extending through and riveted to the plate 15 on eachside of the frame 1 there are two other rods 20 extending downward andpassing through perforations in the base 10 of the frame 11 atequi-distant points from the stud 6. "he lower ends of these rods wherethey pass through the base 10 are threaded, as shown at 21 and below thebase 10 nuts 22 are applied to these threaded ends. 1 parallel to eachother and to the bar 8 area number of rods 23 with their ends passedthrough suitable perforations in the sides of the frame 1 and thereriveted or otherwise secured to this frame. Now, by screwing up the nuts19 on the threaded ends 18 of the rods 16 these rods are put underlongitudinal strain and they tend to draw the upper end of the frame 1toward the bar 8. Such a strain will tend to cause the sides of theframe to recede one from the other in a lateral direction but thislast-named movement is opposed by the lateral rods 23, and, therefore,the longitudinal strain imparted to the rods 16 is transmitted to therods 23 and these will also be put under longitudinal strain, the resultbeing that the rods 16 and the rods 23 of the frame 1 may be put underan initial strain as great as the strength of the materials will permitand the frame will therefore remain in this state of strain under theconditions of use and under the stress of weather, since the strain maybe made suflicicntly great to keep all the parts tight even when themetal has expanded under the heat of the warmest weather to which thedevice is liable to be subjected.

In order to prevent the side buckling or bending of the frame, the rods20 also put under initial strain by means of the nuts 22, and anytendency of the frame to buckle or bend toward the front or back isopposed by these rods 20 and the frame 11 to which they are connected,The strain on the rods 20 also coacts with the strain on the rods 16 tomaintain the rods 23 under longitudinal strain.

ln order that the whole structure may be made as light as consistentwith strength, the rods 16 and 20 may be made of the same gage as therods 23 provided Extending laterally across the frame .the number ofrods 23 does not materially exceed the number of rods 16 and "20. .Ifthe structure is made large, so that more rods 23 are used than thereare rods 16 and 20 combined, then the gage oi the rods 16 and 20 may bemade larger than that of the rods 23. When the itrellisgis plaged inatheground the vines or plants may be twined around the rods l6and 20 andwill be supported by the lateral rods 23 and also by the frame 1. Sincethe motion of the growing vines is liable to cause them tobe rubbed ormarred by contact with the metallic trellis,v they may be attachedthereto by covered wire clips which will form a strong connection forattaching thevines to the trellis but at the same time the coveringwillact as a cushion to prevent rubbing or marring of the vines.

While I have shown and described in some detail the block '5 with itsthreaded stem 6, other forms of connection may be used. For instance,the stem 6 may be a. cornmonplugbolt and the block 5 may be a common nutwhichis shrunken and swaged into the post 3, as will be readilyvunderstood.

1. A trellis composed of an elastic frame, inelastic connections betweenthe sides of the frame, and other inelas- .tic connectionsrarranged .atapproximately right anglesto the, iirst-g amed.connections and providedwith adjustable meansforzputting them under longitudinal strain.

2. A trellis comprising an elastic elliptical frame, inelasticwiresconnecting the sides of the frame through its smaller :diameter, andother inelastic. .wires extending thr ugmthe-frame .OIlgitS longerdiameter .and provided with means-for. putting, the longitudinal'wireson the frame under strain.

3. A trellis composed of an elliptical frame of spring metal,crosswiresconnecting the sides ofthe frame on the smaller\diameterthereof, acrossbar near one endof the frame pa -allel with the.crosswires, other wires connected to :one end of theframe and'extendingalong its longer diameter and passing through the cross bar at pointsnear -its connection with the sides of the frame, and adjusting nuts onsaid longitudinal wires for putting them under longitudinal strain.

4. A trellis comprising an elliptical frame, a post to which one end ofthe frame is secured and which extends for a distance along the longerdiameter of the frame, a cross bar connected to the upper end of saidpost and to the sides of the frame, cross wires connected to the sidesof the frame parallel with the cross bar, longitudinal wires connectedto the upper end of the frame and passing through the cross bar atpoints equi-distant from its point of connection with the post, andnntsapplied to said longitudinal wiresvand adapted to put them underlongitudinal strain.

A trellis comprising an elliptical frame ofelastic material, cross wiresconnected to the sides thereof through its smaller diameter, a crossbarconnected .to thesides of the frame near its lower end, a post to whichthe lower end of the frame is secured and having its .upper end securedto said cross bar, a supplemental frame connected to the post at rightangles to the cross bar, wires connected to the top of the main frameandpassing through the cross barandthere receiving strainingnuts, andothenwires connected to the top of the main frame and passing throughthe supplemental frame at points equi-distant from the post and therereceiving straining nuts.

6. A trellis comprising an elastic frame, inelastic cross wires-thereinanda cross bar near itslower end apost to which the lower-end of theframe is connected and which, in turn, is connected to the cross bar, asupplemental frame connected to the post and extending at right anglesto the cross bar, straining wires connected to the upper endot the main=frame.and also connectedat their :lower ends of the cross barandsupplemental frame by straining nuts, and an anger point fast on thelower end of the cross bar and adapted to be inserted ,inthe ground.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, l havehereto .aifixedmy signature in thepresence of two witnesses.

CLARENCE I. J. BARKER.

Witnesses v A. H. ETTING, E. K. CROW.

